Chiefs Express ‘Full Confidence’ After Patrick Mahomes’s Injury

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates as he heads off the field following an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, in Kansas City, Mo., on Sept. 5, 2024. Ed Zurga/AP Photo

Whether or not Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes plays on Saturday after a recent ankle injury, head coach Andy Reid isn’t worried about his team.

That’s because the Chiefs have an experienced former starting quarterback in Carson Wentz sitting right behind Mahomes. Kansas City signed Wentz in the offseason after his brief stint with the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.

“We have full confidence in Carson,'' Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Tuesday. “If he has to step in and play, then I think everybody, coaches and players, has full confidence that he can go in and do a nice job.”

Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain in the game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday in a 21–7 victory. Wentz came in late and threw two passes.

Both Reid and Mahomes emphasized that the quarterback situation is up in the air for Saturday against the Houston Texans (9–5). It will depend on Mahomes’s recovery from the ankle injury.

“Obviously, it’s football, and you’re going to take hits, but you want to be able to protect yourself,” Mahomes told reporters. “So that'll be where I’m at, and I don’t want to limit the game plan.”

“That’s another thing for me is I want to be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and letting their D-line really get after it,” he said. “It’s about me finding that balance and seeing where I’m at ... I won’t know until kind of close to the end of this week.”

Mobility is especially important against a Texans’ defense that has 45 sacks this season. Defensive ends Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. are two of the fiercest tandems in the league.

“I want to be able to move. I want to be able to get out of the way. [Houston] has a good pass rush, a good defense. They fly around,” Mahomes said. “You don’t want to go out there and put yourself in harm’s way.”

Mahomes’s injury is similar to the one he suffered in the 2022 AFC Playoffs. Mahomes injured his ankle in the divisional round and still played in the AFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl. It didn’t stop him from putting up 508 yards passing and five touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles, but Mahomes wants to err on the side of recovery this time.

“That was pretty significant,'‘ Mahomes said about the first ankle injury. ”But I want to be in a better spot than I was in that next game going up against the Bengals. So, I’ll try to see if I can get there.”

The Chiefs have playoff positioning at stake with an AFC-leading 13–1 record, and the Buffalo Bills (11–3) are just two games back and own the tiebreaker due to a November win over the Chiefs. Only the No. 1 seed gets a bye, so the Chiefs can ill afford to lose that opportunity.

“I wouldn’t say it’s dire that I play,'' Mahomes said. ”It’s not in the AFC Championship Game where we’re playing to get to the Super Bowl. We have a little bit of room to kind of spare, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to win.”

“We’re trying to win the football game, and I’m a competitor. I want to go out there and play, so I‘ll push myself to get to the best place possible over these next few days, and we’ll be able to make a decision then.”

Mahomes also expressed confidence that Wentz can pick up the reins. Once No. 2 pick in 2016, Wentz became an MVP candidate early in his career with the Eagles before injuries derailed his time in Philadelphia. Wentz has bounced around the league with three different teams since 2021.

“He’s started in the league and been successful,” Reid said. “He’s got a great feel for this offense. Very smart, big arm. I like the way he carries himself. I like everything about him. He should be starting in this league somewhere.'’